“Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?”
The full verse · Romans 2:21 · KJV
Thou , teachest ? thou that a man , dost thou ?
Asked to
Jews: here the individual Jew Paul addresses as "thou," who rests in the law and is confident he is "a guide of the blind" and "a teacher of babes" (Romans 2:17-20)
The Scene
Paul has just described the one who is "called a Jew," who rests in the law, boasts of God, and is sure he is a guide, a light, and a teacher of others (Romans 2:17-20).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul turns the teacher's own claims into a mirror. After listing everything this person is confident he is (Romans 2:17-20), Paul asks whether he applies his teaching to himself. The first question states the general point: a teacher who does not learn his own lesson. The second makes it concrete with the command against stealing. Barnes notes that a teacher of others "may be expected to be learned himself." He also admits, "It cannot be proved, perhaps, that the Jews were extensively guilty of this crime," and says the charge is raised partly to make the inconsistency plain. Gill is sharper, calling such teachers "blind leaders of the blind" and pointing to those who "devoured widows' houses" (Matthew 23:14).
The Response
What Scripture recordsNo reply is recorded, and none is needed. Paul presses on with more questions (Romans 2:22-23) and then states the result plainly: "For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written" (Romans 2:24). The questions expect the reader to see the gap between teaching God's law and living it.
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsPaul's list in Romans 2:17-20 describes how a devout Jew understood his calling: "a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes," having "the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law." These were real privileges. Paul's question is not whether the teaching was true, but whether the teacher obeyed it.
"Thou shalt not steal" is one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:15). Gill notes that even Jewish writers complained of such teachers; he cites the rabbinic work Debarim Rabba, a commentary on Deuteronomy, saying that they "disgrace the law before the people of the earth."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyGod's law was never meant only to be taught. It was meant to be lived. Jesus said of the scribes and Pharisees, "they say, and do not" (Matthew 23:3), a verse Barnes cites here. Paul's questions show that knowing and teaching God's will does not place anyone above that will.
In Paul's larger argument, these questions help prove that the Jew, with all his advantages, needs the same grace as the Gentile. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The goal is not to shame one people, but to bring every reader to the righteousness God gives "by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (Romans 3:22).
Look Closer
What had the person in Romans 2:17-20 claimed about himself?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, which truth that I readily share with others have I not yet let You teach me?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Why do you think it is often easier to teach others what is right than to practice it yourself?
- Who is someone whose life matched what they taught you about God, and how did that shape you?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
If you teach, lead, parent, or simply give advice, this question is for you. Before you tell someone else what God requires, ask whether you are letting Him teach you the same thing.
This doesn't mean you must be perfect before you speak about God. Paul still calls the law true (Romans 2:20). The problem he names is teaching others while excusing yourself. Let what you teach examine you first, and let it lead you to the grace Paul goes on to explain (Romans 3:22-24).
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Keep questioning
“Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?”
“Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?”
“Thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?”